Here come the food police again...
"Small quantities of processed meat such as bacon, sausages or salami can increase the likelihood of dying by a fifth, researchers from Harvard School of Medicine found. Eating steak increases the risk of dying by 12%.
The study found that cutting the amount of red meat in peoples’ diets to 1.5 ounces (42 grams) a day, equivalent to one large steak a week, could prevent almost one in 10 early deaths in men and one in 13 in women." (Pseudoscience Nannies condemn Red Meat)1.5 Ounces a day??? Who the hell could live on that? The average working man eats that in one bite! And their idea of a "large steak" is ludicrous. 7 X 1.5 = 10.5 ounces, hardly "large" in the realm of Steakdom.
“Compared with red meat, other dietary components, such as fish, poultry, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains, were associated with lower risk.They want us to live on nuts and berries...
Here's the unscientific part. Correlation does not mean causation:
Scientists added that people who eat a diet high in red meat were also likely to be generally unhealthier because they were more likely to smoke, be overweight and not exercise.So, unless those scientists can show how eating red meat causes smoking and sloth, they can blow it our their blow holes.
Cameron English discusses the myriad problems with non-clinical studies that produced this junk science:
Research like this is entirely dependent upon participants to accurately recall what they've eaten during the period the study is in progressHere's the real agenda...
Recording what you eat with any degree of accuracy is incredibly difficult even when you are motivated to do so, as anyone who has ever dieted knows. Now, imagine assessing the food surveys of over 100,000 people for a study spanning slightly more than two decades. Good luck. (Red Meat not to Blame)
In an accompanying editorial Dr Dean Ornish, of the University of California, San Francisco, said that eating less red meat could also help tackle climate change.
He said: “In addition to their health benefits, the food choices we make each day affect other important areas as well. What is personally sustainable is globally sustainable. What is good for you is good for our planet.”Liberals love shouting "Science!" like that old dude in the Thomas Dolby video, while most of them know nothing about it. When we conservatives are accused of being anti-science, this is the kind of junk science we are against.
The latte liberals can nibble their sticks and twigs and nuts. Me, I'll continue grilling steaks when I can afford them and slow smoking big slabs of Texas-style Beef Brisket.
Red Meat Blamed for Everything
55 comments:
" Eating steak increases the risk of dying by 12%."
To 112%?
Evidently. Good one.
Scientists added that people who eat a diet high in red meat were also likely to work at a job that requires physical exertion and above average strength, were more likely to not have time after work for much else but dinner and sleep and refuse to act like metrosexuals in some paint-by- numbers aerobics class.
Fixed.
So taking this argument to it's illogical extreme; mass cycle bodybuilders are more likely to smoke and not exercise?
Makes perfect sense to me.
Liberals love shouting "Science!" like that old dude in the Thomas Dolby video, while most of them know nothing about it. When we conservatives are accused of being anti-science, this is the kind of junk science we are against.
To paraphrase Ronaldus Maximus, they just know so much that isn't so.
Some clarifications for Silverfiddle and vibernum:
The 12% increased risk of dying is annual. Another way of putting it is that expected age of death for a 40-year-old would move from 80 to 79. Also, my understanding of the study is that confounding variables such as sloth and smoking were corrected for.
Yes, this effect isn't very large. A real scientist with a good sense of proportion wouldn't use this data to eg. legislate or even make strong dietary recommendations. Good, evidence-based health advice has been the same for decades: don't smoke, eat a variety of food and take some exercise.
If this report led Silverfiddle to believe that scientists are instructing him to switch to a vegan diet, then the problem is with journalism not with science.
On the other hand, commercial pressure to produce large quantities of cheap beef really does have a substantial ecological impact even before you consider climate change, and has led to questionable practices in husbandry. Personally I like to buy better quality meat and have it less often. I'm not your nanny, but it's an approach I would gently recommend to any meat enthusiast.
Relax, have a nice glass of red wine, it's good for you.
Wait, no it isn't.
Relax, have a nice cup of coffee, it's good for you.
Wait, no it isn't.
Relax, have a nice glass of red wine, it's good for you.
Just sayin...
Viburnum,
" Eating steak increases the risk of dying by 12%."
To 112%?
LOL! You've got that exactly right.
Your comment made my day!
Silverfiddle,
1.5 Ounces a day??? Who the hell could live on that?
Even the strictest weight-low programs and diabetic diets allow for more protein than that! And, yes, protein from red meat.
When I was on a strict diet years ago and dropped 35 pounds (to the point of anorexia and having to reverse my eating program), we were REQUIRED to eat 6-7 ounces of protein a day. Chicken and fish were emphasized, of course. After a while, chicken began tasting like feathers smell, I tell you.
BTW, no fat in the diet results in neurological damage -- sometimes irreversible neurological damage.
As for nuts and berries, people can get fat eating those. The more fat, the more cholesterol produced by the liver -- even if one has a zero-cholesterol diet -- and one acquires clogged arteries all over the place. I kid you not!
They just can't help but try to influence what we eat and drink. I think it must be something in the air.
Psalm 2 (King James Version)
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
“Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us."
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision.
Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession."
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling
.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
___________________
Substitute “Truth,” “Love,” “Principle,” “Reason,” "Life," or “Spirit” for “The LORD” and you will understand more easily the meaning of this and most other passages in the Holy Bible.
The reason there is so much rebellion against God is that most of us don’t have the faintest idea what we’re talking about when we refer to “Him.”
He isn’t merely a “term.”
And by the way, who are "The Kings of the earth?"
~ FreeThinke
1.5 Ounces a day??? Who the hell could live on that?
-------
Raises hand.
I can go weeks without eating meat.
Very inefficient source of protein to boot.
Relax, have a nice cup of coffee, it's good for you.
Wait, no it isn't.
------------
Minimum 5 cup a day.
Not to worry. Another four years of Obama and we will be foraging for roots and berries. Meat? what meat. Grains must be used to run the Government controlled machines, not personal cars, nor beef.
I don't understand why people get so riled up about these sorts of studies. If your manhood is that dependent on your steak intake, and refusal to accept what should be obvious science, then perhaps your problem is with your understanding masculinity.
I happen to love beef. I have always eaten too much of it, and practically raw at that. I also, until a few years ago, loved scotch a bit too much.
Now I take a statin with my blood pressure medicine.
I'm not overweight, I appear, from the outside, to be in pretty good shape. But on the inside I have a very high risk for a heart attack for a man my age. If I had eaten less steak and drank less scotch, I probably wouldn't have this problem, but I have also led a pretty stressful life, and heart disease runs in the family, so, who knows?
Well, I do. The science is pretty solid.
There's a reason humans have the teeth we do. Our diet, over the course of our evolution, was composed of a variety of foods, with a lot of fruit and nuts and berries and greens and grains, those metrosexual cavemen!!! We also ate bugs. We did eat meat, but not in nearly the volume or variety of which we have today. So, our bodies did not evolve to accommodate large volumes of meat, like say a lion. We're not lions.
As well, we all should know that it is true that beef in particular requires a lot of grazing land, and that means less forests, etc, etc. So, it should be obvious to anyone that beef business is not very good for the environment. Really, it should be a no-brainer.
But, we like beef, so we eat it. But there's nothing wrong with reminding those of us who eat a lot of beef that we should eat a little less of it. It's just good advice.
JMJ
So do I understand they want us to live longer so their death panels can kill more of us?
Remember eons ago when they said eggs were bad? We kept right on eating them. Then they decided eggs were ok. Next it was eat margarine, not butter. Harkening back to my Chemistry 101 class and having a professor lay out how margarine was made, we decided to eat butter. Now margarine (vile stuff) is bad and butter and olive oil are good.
Bottom line? Think I'll have a tri-tip steak for dinner, thank you very much!
Adrienne, all that stuff is peripheral. The central health advice of not smoking, eating a variety and exercising has been consistent.
Scientists aren't really fickle air-heads who give confused and conflicting advice, but you could be forgiven for forming that opinion from the way main-stream journalism (mis)treats it.
I have known relative who had consumed 2-3 red meat portions a week and lived to be in their 90's.
I'm not cutting back on the finer things in life, no way, no how.
THE QUESTION
To live long follow this routine:
Add some bran to your cuisine.
Don't use oil that's saturated.
Get your brew decaffeinated. S
tay away from food that's fried.
Watch out for that pesticide.
It's time for you to put a halt
To flavoring with lots of salt.
Preservatives are overrated.
Sugar gets you agitated.
Laboratory rats concur
On artificial sweetener.
Of red meat and eggs beware;
Cholesterol lurks everywhere.
The list of no-no's is complete.
Now WHAT are we supposed to eat?
~ Anonymous
THE ANSWER
Anything that's leafy green
Dietitians think is keen.
Bread that's fibrous, rough and dry
Health food addicts love to buy.
Skinless chicken, bland white fish
Make a doctor-ordered dish.
Fruit that's fresh not dried or canned
If eaten raw will not be banned.
And what's the best source of protein?
You guessed it, it's the humble bean.
Milk that's thin and watery
Is found in "healthy" cups of tea.
Medics say to beat disease
Eat great gobs of cottage cheese.
Herbs are fine, but spices hot
Are on the list of "Thou shalt not."
The truth, my friends, there's no disguising:
EAT -- but NOT what's APPETIZING!
~ FreeThinke
I BBQ'd a huge New York steak (12min) and lobster (8min) on Tuesday night in my backyard. I had some beer wine and vodka as well. I am doomed :-)
The point of living is to live WELL, KP, not to live LONG.
After all "Living Well Is the Best Revenge," isn't it?
};-)>
~ FreeThinke
But the critical detail, for me, is Silver's title, Red Scare .
Beyond the intimation that he is still subconsciously fighting the cold war I don't understand why anything that rocks right wing world has to be some scare from the nasty fake scientists.
Well, I await Silver's demonstration that the Harvard Medical School is indulging in pseudo science, unless we understand pseudoscience to be anything which causes fundamentalists to question their world view.
Of course then he totally freaks out and assumes the UN Blue Helmets are going to come and take his masterfully seasoned half rack of ribs.
Also the environmental issues with beef are sound. It takes far more energy to produce animal protein as opposed to vegetable protein. Not that Americans should give a sweet shit that forests ARE destroyed to raise beef for their Big Macs, after all we are Americans, the Calvinist elect. The most wasteful fools on the freaking planet.
Dr Dean Ornish, of the University of California, San Francisco, said that eating less red meat could also help tackle climate change.
Presumably since methane is a greenhouse gas? Come to think of it, where that's concerned you'd have to think that modern beef cattle would be a definite improvement over the herd of bison that formerly covered five states.
The study is worthy as it goes, but because of the methodology laid out by the critic, it should not be taken as gospel.
I don't know how they do it in Beantown, but out here cattle graze on otherwise useless land. And last I checked, it also takes land to grow vegetables. But anyway, if you've got pictures of natives in loincloths burning down forests here in the west to make room for their cattle, I'm willing to entertain your argument.
And it wouldn't be a half-rack, it'd be a few whole racks!
"the herd of bison that formerly covered five states."
Mmmmm....Bison (drools).
I can only cite a bumber sticker I saw once: If God didn't want us to eat animals, why did he make them out of MEAT!
And Jez is absolutely right, you need a well rounded diet: Elk, Deer, Antelope, Pronghorn, Oryx, Bison, Water Buffalo, Bear, Caribou, Moose, Javelina, Peccary, Beaver, Rabbit, Beaver, Grouse, Partridge, Ptarmigan, Quail, Pheasant, Duck, Goose, Turkey, Emu, Ostrich.
Cheers!
And also, why don't liberals accept the same analysis when it comes to federally-subsidized ethanol?
What a complete money-wasting boondoggle...
Finn: Don't forget Chukar. Small but tasty, and so much fun to shoot!
And also, why don't liberals accept the same analysis when it comes to federally-subsidized ethanol?
What a complete money-wasting boondoggle...
------
Whoa Bubba. We've been on this one for some time.
Freaking con job but thanks to the genius of the founding dullards we can have a few corn growing states in the Senate push this kind of grift through.
Freaking corn farmers have to be bigger damn welfare queens than the Israelis. We give them a bundle and we get high water consumption, useless ethanol, high fructose corn syrup and animal feed.
viburnum said...
" Eating steak increases the risk of dying by 12%."
To 112%?"
Viburnum: I hereby knight you "SIR BRILLIANT!" :-) what a mind you have!
Ducky...5 cups of java a day; maybe that's why you get so testy?
KP...when am I invited over for barbecued steak and lobster.
SF...I don't think that part of the study that suggests beef eaters also smoke and don't exercise is too far off: You know they're not suggesting eating beef causes those things, but it's a mind set. Probably more people who eat tons of beef aren't either informed or care about their health as much as those who don't eat beef? That's my opinion, anyway.
Yeah, but I've eaten everything on my list. Thanks for the tip though, I'll have to try Chukar. I do make a mean Bison Bolognese, if I say so myself.
I figure, if I'm at the top of the food chain, I may as well enjoy it.
Remember that poem, four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie?
I have a French cookbook from 1896 that actually has the recipe, along with a full color plate illustration. Good thing too, I never would have guessed that you leave their butts sticking out of the crust.
Cheers!
Life causes death.
Just part of trying to neuter the American.
Ducky...5 cups of java a day; maybe that's why you get so testy?
-------
At least.
When I start slamming down double espressos, that's when I get testy.
Silverfiddle, try Frances Moore Lappe's Diet for a Small Planet wicked hippie vibe but it makes some useful points.
I don't see anything wrong with eating meat as long as you don't eat it on a daily basis.
I love steak and hamburgers but I won't eat them every day.
I refuse to become a vegetarian or a vegan.
If God didn't intend for us to eat animals, He wouldn't have made them out of meat.
"I figure, if I'm at the top of the food chain, I may as well enjoy it."
I wouldn't be too sure of that. Has it never occurred to you that God may very well have created us and has been grooming US all along for His personal delectation?
Seems logical enough, when you stop think about it.
All life is based on PREDATION.
~ FreeThinke
I usually have a quad espresso on the back half of century rides. Caffeine is a strong ergogenic aid. It increases speed and power output, and extends the time an athlete can train and resist fatigue. Caffeine has also been proven to stimulate the brain which contributes to an athlete's clearer thinking and ability to concentrate over time.
It also will increase the level of circulating fatty acids in the bloodstream, which permits these fat stores to be oxidized, or burned, as fuel. That helps prevent low glycogen stores.
Caffeine is good!
"When I start slamming down double espressos, that's when I get testy."
Apparently then, you must be quaffing the evil brew 24/7, right? };-)>
~ FreeThinke
We build a tolerance to caffeine pretty quickly. Sometimes before a competition an endurance athlete will stop using caffeine about three weeks before a race. It is amazing how fast we lose the tolerance and what a difference three to four shots will have after a short fast. Similar to alcohol and other drug detox but much quicker.
"Life causes death."
And vice versa. SOMETHING has to be dying all the time in order for you -- and I -- to live.
As I said, it's all based on PREDATION.
But then, the death of one thing helps generate and sustain the life of another. It's an endless chain.
Whatever "redemption" we may experience comes when we become a gourmet meal for our Creator. It's the price we must pay for having lived in the first place.
God The CREATOR is also The Ultimate CONSUMER.
I think that's IT. The Riddle of Creation has been SOLVED. The Meaning of Existence is now REVEALED.
~ FreeThinke
FT: "I think that's IT. The Riddle of Creation has been SOLVED. The Meaning of Existence is now REVEALED."
In that case: So long, and thanks for all the fish
I don't know, I'm haunted by the salmon of doubt in this, the long dark teatime of my soul.
lol
Finntann: "Blogger Finntann said...
I don't know, I'm haunted by the salmon of doubt in this, the long dark teatime of my soul.
Haunted is fine, just Don't Panic"
And Another Thing
if you go to
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
searching for
The Meaning of Liff
don't be afraid to eat the beef, it's
Mostly Harmless
Jersey: "As well, we all should know that it is true that beef in particular requires a lot of grazing land, and that means less forests, etc, etc."
Forest, prairie, and chaparral are separate distinct ecosystems right down to the soil geology and microbiological levels. Leave an acre of open ground here in Pennsylvania sit idle for 20 years and you'll have woods. An acre of Kansas will revert to prairie in much less time. What made the Great Plains desirable as farmland was the relative absence of trees. Utilizing the land for what it's suited for is the best practice we can have.
Z: "I hereby knight you "SIR BRILLIANT!" :-)"
Why thank you Ma'am. ( blushes )
Ducky, every have an espresso with a cold glass of water?.....that's how they serve it in Paris and the hot espresso drunk with a sip of cold water now and again is SO good...weird, but true.
KP sent me a photo of his steak and lobster from the other night: WAY more gorgeous that your image, SF :-)
KP...beer, wine AND vodka? (aspirin in the morning?)!!
One day they tell us we'll die from steak, the next they'll tell us we need it to survive.... whatever!
Let the greenies eat their lentils, we'll eat our steaks and baby seals. LOL.
If eating this or that is unhealthy for us, then make us pay for the health consequences and we'll reduce our unhealthy behavior all by our lonesome.
"The study is worthy as it goes, but because of the methodology laid out by the critic, it should not be taken as gospel."
Well, I don't think *anything* should be taken as gospel.
This is epidemiology. It's not physics. It's based on subjects' reports and relies on their presentation of their conditions and behaviours. It is all messy, that's true. It's the best we can do; it's better than nothing, and certainly better than dismissing health news just because you resist advice to moderate an activity which you enjoy. If Beamish were an honorable man (he qualifies as neither), he would chastise you for cognitive dissonance.
Hey Jersey, don't worry too much about the Scotch...
Today on MSNBC:
Those who never touched the bottle were also roughly 56 percent more likely to experience coronary heart disease than regular drinkers, found the scientists, who crunched data from a government survey of nearly half a million Americans.
The Virginia Tech study shows that heavy drinking, defined as at least three drinks, three or more days a week, is even worse for you than abstaining. (Although not by much, and non-drinkers were more susceptible to heart disease.)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46880164/ns/health-mens_health/
I'll have that Laphroaig 18 neat now with a glass of water on the side, thank you.
Cheers!
"For each ecstatic instant
We must an anguish pay
In keen and quivering ratio
To the ecstasy.
For each beloved hour ––
Sharp pittances of years ––
bitter, contested farthings ––
And coffers heaped with tears."
~ Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
Submitted by FreeThinke
Shoulda seen the recoiled horror in our friends' faces when we revealed that we still give our almost-6 yr old whole milk. For the love of God man, whole milk, given to a child? Sweet mercy, have you no freakin' shame? Somebody call CPS!
Heaven forbid I tip 'em off that my son loves cheese, and not that crappy plastic kind, but actual chunks of sharp cheddar.
But then again, when he eats fruity flavored snacks they are, brace yourself, actual fruit. He doesn't drink soda pop or Red Bulls. He doesn't get Pop Tarts or Count Chockula for breakfast, but instead actual cooked oatmeal or a scrambled egg - yolk and all!
To all of that convention dietary wisdom, I say a hearty "BS!"
Rob, your wisdom sounds pretty good to me. I concur! But I think it would be considered conventional, where I come from. :)
It surprises me how many babies love olives.
Try to live on nuts and berries, dear,
And you will suffer chronic diarrhea.
Subsist on beans from now till you depart
And you will all the way to Heaven fart.
~ FreeThinke
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